Rainbow Brite and the Color Filter
by Robert Teague
Summary: Murky's latest invention to destroy all color forever.


Rainbow Brite and the Color Filter c 2001 by Robert Teague

This story is written solely for the entertainment of Rainbow Brite fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made and you let me know.

Author's note: Soon after I discovered and fell in love with Rainbow Brite, I wrote outlines of stories for the TV show. This is one of them. Enjoy! Robert Teague 15 Jan 2001

5 September 2011 edited and reformatted for easier reading

Murky Dismal was in his laboratory, working on a new invention to destroy color forever. He had been hard at it for several weeks now, and the area around the workbench showed it. Papers filled with diagrams and notes littered the table and floor. Tools and molds, parts and pieces were scattered around. So preoccupied had he been, he hadn't even yelled at Lurky.

He sat back, satisfied. "Finished!" he said. "Lurky! Oh, Lurky!" he called.

A minute later, Lurky arrived. "What's up, Murky?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning from his nap.

"I've finished my invention!" he answered, holding it up. In his hands was a glass object shaped like a five-pointed star. It had a hinge on one point, and a clasp on another.

"Gee, Murky, that's nice," said Lurky, "It'll look pretty on the Christmas tree."

"Awk, sputter!" said Murky, "This isn't for any Christmas tree, cheese brain!"

"It isn't?" said, Lurky, looking at it closely. "It looks like a Christmas star."

"This goes on top of something else!" cackled the villian, "The Color Castle!"

Lurky stepped back, stunned. "We're gonna decorate the Color Castle?"

"Yeah, hairball! And when we're through, Rainbowland is going to look nicer than it ever has before!"

"Oh, goody!" said Lurky, clapping his hands. "But gee, it's clear, how is it going to make Rainbowland pretty? You can see right through it."

"This is a Color Filter. Light can go through, but color can't. All we have to do is put it over the star on top of the Color Castle, and no more rainbows! The colors will fade away, and never come back! Rainbowland will be grey and grungy, the way it was always meant to be!"

Lurky looked disappointed, but knew better than to say anything. Murky was in a good mood, and that was rare enough not to spoil. Instead, he asked, "How are we gonna get the Filter on the Color Castle?"

"We'll use the balloon, helium breath! Tonight, after everyone's asleep, and Moonglo has finished for the night, we'll fly over the Castle, and put the filter on," answered Murky.

"Oh, goody, I like flying in the balloon," said Lurky.

"Well, good! Go and make sure the balloon and gondola are in working order," said the villian, carefully putting the Filter in a padded box.

"Okay, Murky!" said Lurky, entheusiastically, and left. Murky rubbed his hands together and grinned.

rbrbrb

The Rainbowland Clock struck 4 AM, and all was dark and quiet. Everyone, all the sprites, Starlite, the Color Kids, and Rainbow Brite were asleep. Overhead, the stars and moon shone with all the colors of the rainbow. Meteors slashed through the sky, leaving a trail of glowing particles. The Milky Way, with its swarms of stars, ambled across the sky from one horizon to the other. A bright star, the Earth's sun, was about to set for the night.

The dark shape of a balloon, drifting on a light breeze, moved across the sky, cutting off the light of the stars. No one saw it.

Aboard were the two villians, Murky and Lurky.

"Hee hee hee!" chortled Murky, "This breeze is taking us just where we need to go!"

"Uh... where's that, Murky?" asked Lurky.

Murky made an inarticulate sound in his throat. "The Color Castle, breeze brain!"

"Oh! Oh, yeah..."

"In a few minutes, we'll be over the Castle, and then, no more colors!"

"Gee, Murky, it sure is pretty up here!" commented Lurky.

"It will be in a few days, my friend," said Murky, grinning.

The breeze continued to push the balloon toward the Castle. Finally, Murky decided they were close enough.

"Give me the anchor, Lurky," he said.

Lurky looked around the deck of the gondola. "Anchor, anchor..." he muttered.

"THAT, right there," said Murky, pointing.

"Oh, PLUNGER, I thought you said 'anchor'," said Lurky, handing it to him.

"I DID say 'anchor', lead brain," said Murky, grabbing it from him. It was a toilet plunger with a thin but strong rope attached.

He threw it towards the top of the Color Castle, and it landed perfectly, sticking right beside the star-shaped Color Emitter.

"Lurky, help me pull in the rope," said Murky, pulling with all his might.

"Right," said Lurky, grabbing the rope. With a bit of work they pulled the balloon over to the Castle, then tied off the rope so they wouldn't drift away until ready to.

Murky climbed out of the gondola, and stood on top of the Castle by the plunger.

"Now, Lurky," said Murky, turning to his assistant, "Very carefully hand me that box."

"Sure, Murky," said Lurky, picking it up like it was full of eggs. "Here you go." He tossed it over the side to Murky, who involuntarily yelped. He grabbed the box, just barely keeping it from falling to the ground. He stood still and listened. He was more concerned that someone had heard him than in fussing at Lurky. Nothing stirred. "Phew," he thought, "That was close."

Below him, Twink in his hammock was suddenly startled awake.

"What was that sound?" he wondered. He listened, but heard nothing. Then he heard something like someone walking on top of the Castle. Concerned, he listened carefully.

Then he rolled over in the hammock, and pulled the blanket up tight. "Aw, that's silly. There's no-one up there; it must be those ducks again." He drifted back to sleep.

Murky opened the box, carefully, and took out the Filter. Undoing the clasp, he opened it and put it over the Color Emitter. He closed and re-clasped it, then stood back admiring his work. "A perfect fit!" he thought, "They'll never know it's here!" He picked up the empty box, and tossed it back into the gondola. "Let's go!" he said in a loud whisper.

Almost asleep, Twink murmured "Go where?" There was no reply, so he drifted off.

With some difficulty, Murky and Lurky managed to detach the plunger from the roof of the Castle, and drifted away. Murky was beside himself with happiness, but had to contain it until they were well away from the Castle.

"WE DID IT!" he shouted at last.

"WE DID IT!" echoed Lurky, who then stopped, pondering.

"Uh...what did we do?" he asked, trying to think.

Murky was too happy to get mad. "We got the Filter on the Emitter! That Rainbow Brat and her gang have got a surprise coming tomorrow morning!"

"I like surprises!" said Lurky.

"In this case, Lurky, so do I!"

Lurky looked around in the direction they were travelling. "Gee, Murky, you gave Rainbow Brite a surprise, and here's one for you!"

Murky came over to see what Lurky was looking at. The hot air in the balloon was cooling off, and they were slowly approaching the ground. Or rather, the water. The breeze was taking them directly into Rainbow Falls.

"Oh, no! We're gonna get wet!" said Murky.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Lurky.

"We're going to take a deep breath, and as soon as we land, start swimming!" answered Murky, inhaling.

A moment later, splashdown. They swam away from the balloon, and made it to shore.

Murky stood, wringing out his clothes as Lurky got out of the water. He shook like a dog, and got Murky wet again.

"Homina, homina..." said Murky, turning red in the face. He turned toward Lurky.

"LURKY! WATCH WHERE YOU SLING THAT WATER! YOU'RE GETTING ME WET AGAIN!"

"Sorry, Murky," said Lurky.

Murky wrung out his clothes again, then noticed it was getting light. Dawn was not far off. Almost time for his little trick to go to work.

"Gee, Murky, what about the balloon?" asked Lurky, pointing over the pond. The balloon in the water had drifted away from the falls, and was slowly deflating. A sharp rock must have punctured it.

"We'll have to get it later. It's nearly dawn, and I want to see the end of colors. Come on, we'll have to hurry."

They settled in a bush across the moat from the Castle. The night was nearly gone, and the sky had turned a pale blue. To the east, the sun was spreading reddish colors over the mountains. Rainbowland slowly woke up. Farmer sprites headed for their fields. Others who worked in the Castle arrived and went inside.

The sun rose over the mountains.

"Any second, now..." muttered Murky, "Keep your eyes on the star atop the Castle."

"Okay, Murky!" agreed Lurky, and looked at it.

Suddenly there was a flash from the star, and a rainbow rose from it, travelling over the mountains to the west, where the Color Cave was. But the flash was white light. The rainbow was monochrome, from black on one side, through shades of grey, and white on the other.

"IT WORKED!" shouted Murky, then clapped his hands over his mouth. He looked around, but nobody seemed to have heard him. "It's beautiful..." he said, admiring the colorless rainbow.

"Gee, Murky, it was prettier before," said Lurky.

Murky growled, but before he could answer, a passing sprite saw the monochrome rainbow. The sprite screamed, dropped his hoe, and ran into the Castle.

A minute later, Rainbow Brite and all the Color Kids ran outside to see. They stood pondering what could be the problem.

Then Rainbow looked at Shy Violet. "Violet, the Color Console is your department. What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't have any idea, Rainbow," was the answer, "But I'm going to find out." The violet Color Kid ran back inside, followed by the others.

"Oh, no she won't," muttered Murky, "They'll NEVER figure this one out! Hee hee! C'mon, Lurky, we've got to get the Grunge Buggy, and get the balloon before anyone sees it!" The pair crawled away through the bushes.

Inside the Castle, the Color Kids sat at their stations around the Color Console, except for Violet, who had taken off several panels, and was halfway inside.

"How about this, Red?" called Violet.

Red tapped several buttons. "It still shows everything is fine, Violet. But the amounts of red being reported back are dropping slowly." He looked around. "Everyone, report," he said. There was agreement. Their stations all were reporting the same thing for their own colors.

Violet wiggled out of the Console, and looked up. "Somebody add some star sprinkles to their station," she said.

"I will," said Indigo. She looked at Encore, who saluted, and got a bucketfull of star sprinkles from the dispenser. He brought them over, and Indigo put them in the hopper. Sitting at her station, she activated the colors, and an indigo line of color rose through the column and up to the globe. The globe flashed.

"Everything looks good there," said Rainbow.

"Yes, there's something wrong somewhere else," said Violet. "Red, go down to the processing level, and check things there. See if something is wrong with the star sprinkles, please."

"Right," said Red, "I'm on it!" He ran down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Murky and Lurky had gotten the Grunge Buggy, and were heading for the Falls to get the balloon. As they passed by the Castle, most of the sprites had gathered outside, and were looking at and discussing the monochrome rainbow.

"It's perfect!" said Murky, grinning, "They're so preoccupied, they won't even notice us getting the balloon. Step on it!" The Grunge Buggy sped up, trailing its usual black smoke.

"Nothing there, Violet," said Red, panting slightly, "Everything is working fine."

Rainbow Brite looked at Twink. "Is the rainbow still colorless?"

"It sure is, Rainbow! I hope you can fix the problem soon!" he said.

"We've got to," said Violet, "By my calculations, the monochrome rainbow will make the colors fade faster than normal. They'll be gone by tonight!"

The Color Kids all gasped.

"Shut down the Console!" said Lala.

"We can't," said Violet, "If we do, we won't be able to find the problem."

"Then either way, it's the end of Rainbowland," said Patty, "It just depends on how fast we want it to end."

"We can't give up hope!" said Buddy, "We'll get it fixed!"

"We've checked the system from bottom to top, and nothing," said Rainbow.

Violet stood thinking. "Let's go..." she muttered.

"Go where?" asked Twink, then stopped. His brow wrinkled. That had raised a memory. If only he could get it into focus...

Violet walked away without answering, deep in thought. The others followed her.

Murky and Lurky were at the Falls, dragging the waterlogged balloon and gondola out of the water. As they dumped out the water, and folded the balloon, Murky kept looking at the monochrome rainbow overhead. Each time, he smiled. He glanced at a patch of flowers nearby, then did a double take.

"Lurky! Look! The colors are fading already!" he said with glee.

"Aw, that's a shame. They're pretty colors," was the answer.

"Will you just get this balloon folded? We've got to get out of here before we're seen!"

"Okay!" agreed Lurky, and sped up his folding. Murky got caught in it, and ended up folded into the balloon. His protests could be heard faintly as Lurky dumped the balloon into the trash can, and put the gondola on top.

"Ready, Murky! Murky?" he looked around. "Where did he go? Murky?" He walked around the Grunge Buggy, but didn't find Murky. "Guess I'll wait for him." He climbed into the Buggy and continued to look around.

Murky managed to get a pocket knife out, and cut his way out of the balloon. His head popped out, and he gasped for breath.

"Hi, Murky! We're all ready!" said Lurky, cheerfully.

"Then...[gasp] let's go... pant, pant," answered Murky. In a cloud of smoke, the Grunge Buggy took off for the Pits.

Violet and Red had gone into a mantinence corridor, and were testing the machinery inside. Twink was at the rear, so he could take messages back. He was still trying to remember.

Up ahead, he heard Red say, "Watch your head, Violet, you'll have to duck..."

"Duck..." thought Twink, "Let's go, duck."

The memory hit him like a thunderbolt, and he ran back to the entrance, where Rainbow waited.

"Rainbow! I just remembered something! It may be important!" he said, waving his arms.

"Calm down, Twink," she said, stepping back a pace, "Now, what is it?"

"Early this morning a noise woke me up! I thought it was just ducks on the Castle, until I heard somebody say, 'let's go'."

"Why would anyone be on the roof? There's nothing there but..." her eyes widened.

"Violet! Red! Come on! I think Twink's figured it out!"

They all ran outside, and looked up at the star.

"Violet, shut down the Console! I'll go take a look," said Rainbow.

As Violet ran back inside, Rainbow touched the star on the Color Belt, and a rainbow appeared under her feet. It lifted her up and around the Castle to the Color Emitter. The colorless rainbow faded as the Console shut down.

She looked closely at the star, then gasped. There was something over it! A quick examination, and she found the clasp. She took off the Filter, and held it up. "HERE IT IS!"

She shouted. The Kids and sprites all cheered. She looked through it, and gasped. She could see everything perfectly, but it was all in black and white.

Something dark caught her eye, and she saw the Grunge Buggy driving along toward the Pits. "I'll bet you're responsible, Murky Dismal," she muttered. "Violet, turn the Console back on! Quick!"

Violet ran back inside. Rainbow took a mirror out of a pocket, and held it over the star, tilted toward the Buggy.

The Emitter flashed its normal yellow, and a rainbow appeared. But it reflected from the mirror toward the villains.

Lurky glanced toward the Castle. "Murky, look! A pretty rainbow!"

"R-rainbow?" he said, and looked.

The signal hit them squarely, and Murky yelled. He was suddenly covered with rainbow colors! The Buggy and Lurky had been colored as well.

"AAAGGGHH! COLORS!" he yelled, "I'll get you for this, Rainbow Brite!" He shook his fist in her direction.

The Grunge Buggy disappeared into the dying trees, heading for the Pits, Murky yelling for all he was worth.

"Twink, you saved the day!" said Rainbow.

"Gee, thanks, Rainbow!" answered Twink, blushing.

"This is fascinating!" said Violet, examining the Filter, "It prevents any color from passing through, but is perfectly clear. You say it fits over the Emitter?"

Rainbow nodded.

"He must have put it on early this morning," she continued, "Excuse me, I'm going to examine this more closely." She headed for her laboratory.

Rainbow looked at Twink. "I'm glad you remembered that noise," she said.

"Me too," answered Twink, "But the next time I hear someone on the roof, I hope it's Santa Claus!"

The End


End file.
